Soviet style connecting wire?

[Chris56000]

Hi!

Just out of curiosity, does any of our Eastern European or other Members know what standard of insulated connecting wire is used in Soviet–made electronic equipment, and for authenticity, is it possible to buy lengths of it in reasonable quantities?

Soviet wire seems to only be available in a few colours, off–white, pink, turquoise blue/green, pale yellow, light blue and light brown – they're the only colours I've seen in my experience with Soviet consumer electronics!

I ask because replacement Western p.v.c. connecting wire sticks out like a sore thumb compared with the original type used!

Chris Williams

[daqq]

You can buy NOS on ebay:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/322941347372
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203539764327
(no relation to seller)

But they are still made. I saw this mentioned by a forum member with a link included IIRC. Might have been some exotic wire?

[Canis Dirus Leidy]

Just out of curiosity, does any of our Eastern European or other Members know what standard of insulated connecting wire is used in Soviet–made electronic equipment, and for authenticity, is it possible to buy lengths of it in reasonable quantities?

As far as I remember, an ordinary PVC-insulated (with or without intermediate synthetic silk braid between copper and PVC, plus shielded variants for EMI-sensitive parts of circuit) hookup wire will be quite authentic for civil electronics (unless you talk about really old beasts from Fifties and earlier times).

I ask because replacement Western p.v.c. connecting wire sticks out like a sore thumb compared with the original type used!

What do you mean? If it's about flexibility, then there may be problems even with the original МГШВ (because its flexibility isn't prescribed in product specifications), if it's about the colors here, again, nothing can be done — the manufacturer will not select colors so that the insulation looks exactly the same as on the wire from the seventies.

[Chris56000]

Hi!

The main reasons Western type p.v.c. connecting wire "sticks out like a sore thumb" are:–

(a) Soviet wire has thicker insulation in many cases;

(b) The somewhat limited range of colours and the available shades;

(c) I found Soviet connecting wire is more amenable to soldering temperature than Western type p.v.c. wire – it doesn't look seem to peel off the conductor quite as much!

Anybody who had previously added standard Western p.v.c. wire to something like a Soviet oscilloscope, for instance, would leave definite evidence of the work done !

Chris Williams

[TimFox]

There are different PVC formulations available from Western wire vendors.  We used to call the good stuff "irradiated PVC", and it resisted soldering temperature better than did the cheap stuff.  What do they call it now?
For my own purposes, I buy PTFE insulated wire, available expensively in solid colors, and less-expensively in remnants of arbitrary colors (such as one or two color stripes on a white or other solid background), since my soldering can be klutzy and the PTFE resists even my clumsy efforts.

[tooki]

There are different PVC formulations available from Western wire vendors.  We used to call the good stuff "irradiated PVC", and it resisted soldering temperature better than did the cheap stuff.  What do they call it now?

”Irradiated PVC” or “cross-linked PVC”.

Why would you think its name would have changed, especially given that tons of it is used in the military, where things (like terminology) can’t change quickly?? (Serious question, not flippant.)

[rstofer]

If you're melting the insulation, perhaps an anti-wicking tools will help.  These are intended to prevent the solder from wicking up the wire at the termination.

[TimFox]

Serious answer:  I once had trouble locating the term "irradiated PVC" in a catalog.  Here's an example of "XLPVC" wire from Alpha at DigiKey, which answers my question as to what they call it now:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/alpha-wire/7057-SL001/3715827

[tooki]

It literally says “polyvinyl chloride, XLPVC, irradiated”. 

If you can’t figure out that that’s irradiated PVC… 

(And of course XLPVC stands for cross-linked PVC, the other term I expressly stated.)

[TimFox]

Yes, I know.  You asked why I wanted to know the current nomenclature, and I replied that once upon a time I could not find it when searching.
Searching today for "irradiated PVC wire" at DigiKey, I found what I posted in my "serious answer" to your question.  I figured it out immediately, including the syntax--do you have any further questions?